The pearls of the ancient sites on the Turkish Riviera
Prepared by:
Dargan Bullivant, architect and partner of Odysseus Cruising
All these sites are easily reached from the coast when travelling by
gulet. Itineraries can be prepared grouping several sites together. Other
sites further inland can be reached by coach or minibus within a day’s
excursion from the coast. Details can be supplied.
Amos
A spectacularly sited ancient site with beautiful views over the bay of
Marmaris. The defensive walls are fine examples of polygonal masonry for
comparison with Hellenistic rectangular masonry on other sites. An attractive
walk in a pleasant landscape near the beach.
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Antalya
An ancient (and modern) port to the east of the Taurus mountains. Founded
in 159 BC as the principal port of the Roman province of Pamphylia. It
possesses a fine archaeological museum and a virtually complete Roman
gateway dedicated to Hadrian. The oldest part is the Ottoman quarter around
the small harbour.
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Aphrodisias
A truly remarkable inland site with a large museum of sculptures. The
on-going excavation of this site is one of archaeology’s great revelations.
A large number of ruins can be seen, some reconstructed with great skill,
which it is a particular pleasure to examine at close quarters. Site under
active excavation.
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Arycanda
Re-discovered by Sir Charles Fellows in May 1840, it is a terraced city
up in the hills, which may be compared with Delphi. It is a place of great
antiquity. It can be reached by vehicle at the end of a deep-cut river
valley with a 10,000ft mountain in the background. It has a fine pure
Greek theatre (2nd Century BC), a spacious agora and a rare athletics
stadium (110 yards long) with complete seating and an honoured finishing
stand. Roman remains include an extensive bath and many large temple tombs.
Site under active excavation.
On return to the boat one can visit the necropolis of Limyra, that epitome
of a Lycian city, with the most extensive necropolis on the coast with
hundreds of tombs in fine condition, including rock-cut house tombs, gable-ended
sarcophagi and coloured inscriptions.
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Aspendus
Best known for the most magnificent and well-preserved theatre of the
classical world. Built during the reign of Marcus Aurelius. It is the
best place to appreciate the grandiose effect of a Roman theatre as it
is so remarkably preserved. The auditorium seats about 20,000 in 41 rows
and it is still used each summer for opera productions. In addition, and
nearby, is the best-preserved Roman aqueduct in Asia Minor, which shows
how the Romans made water run up-hill.
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Bodrum
Known in history as Halicarnassus of the ancient Mausoleum (Tomb of Mausolus)
fame (one of ‘The Seven Wonders of the World’). It also contains
the crusader castle of St. Peter, built by the Knights of St. John (1402
onwards and occupied by them until 1523). Home to the unique Museum of
Marine Archaeology (established by Professor George Bass) which contains,
amongst several other boats, an impressive display of the oldest shipwreck
ever discovered with its remarkable contents. A pure Greek theatre (being
carefully restored) and the gigantic Myndus gateway, assaulted by Alexander
the great. At that time, it was the strongest fortified city known in
Asia Minor.
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Caunus
A great Carian city (Mausolus’ easternmost outpost) with extensive
remains on the Dalyan River with an excellent Greek stoa wall which is
still complete, a fine Roman theatre, a Tholos (a very rare circular temple
site) and a recently uncovered main street with a particularly interesting
third-generation Early Christian church and a large Roman bath (Mausolus
– the 4th Century BC ruler of Caria, see also Bodrum). Site under
active excavation.
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Cnidus
Famous for the most perfect statue of Aphrodite by the Greek master sculptor,
Praxiteles (a head is now in England). The city was planned and built
with great ingenuity on a grid with extensive terracing in the 4th Century
BC. It has two harbours, several temples, a row of Roman shops and four
(at least) Early Christian churches. Site under active excavation. Exploring
the site takes 2-3 hours.
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Dalyan
A particularly beautiful example of the many river valleys that reach
this coast. The river is fringed with reeds and leads to the interesting
site of Caunus and further on to a large lake with its mud-baths. The
river is navigable by flat-bottomed boats which are needed to cross the
shallow sand bar near a famous beach which is the nesting area for the
rare Caretta Caretta turtle.
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Didyma
This majestic classical temple (no roof but walls and columns still standing
65 feet (19.8 metres high), much taller than the Temple of Zeus in Athens)
housed a very famous oracle for 800 years. Over 370ft long, it is one
of the largest classical temples ever constructed. Truly impressive.
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Ephesus
One of the greatest of all archaeological sites with one of the largest
classical theatres (seating 24,000) and exceptionally fine Roman houses
which are rare in both size and quality. The great Basilica of St. John
is nearby. Site under active excavation.
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Euromus
All that is left here of an ancient city is a surprise, near-complete
Roman Corinthian temple, easy to reach and worth examining in detail.
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Göcek
An attractive recently-built small town designed in a low-rise traditional
style. It nestles within a curve of impressive red-stone hills covered
with pale-green pine trees and it faces one of the most beautiful gulfs
with small islands. This peaceful place is the best starting or finishing
place for a cruise, as it is also within 30 minutes of Dalaman, an international
airport.
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Iasus
Known to Lysander the Spartan, this now quiet small village has a fine
Roman forum with an exquisite council chamber nearby and a new museum
with a courtyard enclosing a nearly complete Roman temple tomb (very rare).
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Kalkan
An attractive small town noted for old merchants’ houses and shops
in a setting of great natural beauty. It is a good centre for visiting
the ancient sites of Lycia such as Patara and Xanthus (both large).
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Kas
Known in ancient times as Antiphellus. In Roman times it was a major trading
city famous for its sponges. An attractive, small Turkish town, good for
shopping and site-seeing. It has a picturesque street of jewellers’
shops with the finest example of a Lycian tomb known as ‘The Lion
Tomb’. Kas is the setting off place for visits to the small but
charming Greek island of Megiste (also known as Castellorizo).
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Loryma
This impressively large fortress, virtually intact, was sited to guard
a strategically valuable inlet of water large enough to accommodate the
Athenian fleet during the Peloponnesian War and Demetrius’ fleet
of 200 triremes assembled for the siege of Rhodes in the 4th Century BC.
One of the best examples of Hellenistic military masonry, it is easily
reached after a short walk. Then to Serci Liman for walk through the Kasara
Valley (a 3,000 year old agricultural area) to ‘Goat cleft’.
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Lydae
On the edge of this beautiful Arcadian valley are two large well-sited
Roman mausolea. One of a rare design with a ruined dome on pendentives
and the other with the remains of a fine white marble sarcophagus inscribed
to the family SARPEDON (a hero of the Trojan Wars and said to be the founder
of the earliest Lycian community).
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Miletus
Once a great city on the coast (birthplace of the early philosopher, Thales)
known to St. Paul, who left from here when returning to the Holy Land.
One of the largest of Roman baths and the site of the finest Greek council
chamber anywhere.
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Myra
Sited inland a short distance from ancient Andriace (site of more of Hadrian’s
granaries). This is the port where St. Paul changed ship escorted by a
centurion in 60 AD en route for Rome to be tried before Emperor Nero.
It is one of the earliest Lycian cities with extensive rock-cut house
tombs. Nearby is a Roman theatre (second only in size and interest to
Aspendus further to the east) recently cleared and restored. Germanicus,
heir of Emperor Tiberius, visited here in 18 AD, one year before his tragic
death near Antioch. Site under active excavation. The church of St. Nicholas
can be visited. It was restored by Czar Nicholas of Russia in the 19th
Century.
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Olympus and Pliny’s Chimaera
A very romantic site near white-topped Mount Olympus reached from the
beach through an overgrown valley, passing a fine and complete temple
doorway erected 172-5 AD, dedicated to Marcus Aurelius. Further up towards
Yanar Dag, ‘the Burning Mountain’, is the fire-breathing pit
(Pliny’s Chimaera of legend). This legend recounts that the Corinthian
hero Bellerophon (similar to Herakles) on the winged horse Pegasus slew
the Chimaera (a monster with the head of a lion, the body of a goat and
the tail of a dragon). It is, despite the legend, a mephitic flame which
has ‘issued continually and unvaryingly from time beyond the reach
of history’. It gives a very hot smokeless flame and a brilliant
light which was seen far out at sea by Captain Beaufort RN (he of ‘the
Beaufort scale’ fame) who visited the site in the early 19th Century.
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Patara
After Ephesus, this is the biggest site on the Turkish coast, and possesses
a large Roman theatre, recently cleared, a complete triumphal arch, the
Roman successor temple of Apollo related to the oracle of Delphi and one
of the largest Hadrianic granaries still standing and bordering the old
harbour. Birthplace of Nicholas (about 300 AD), later St. Nicholas. Site
under active excavation.
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Pergamum.
One of the most spectacular achievements of Greek imagination, set on
its ‘pineapple-shaped’ mountain (according to Strabo), 1000ft
above the plain of the River Caicus. It was planned to equal or supersede
Athens after Alexander liberated the area. To be seen are the Acropolis
with the magnificent partly-reconstructed Trajaneum, a huge Roman temple,
the vast Greek theatre (10,000 seats), the site of the Pergamum Library
(one of the three great libraries of the ancient world) and the Aesclepieum,
famous as a great medical centre from Hellenistic and Roman times, when
Galen practiced here. One of the greatest of all sites.
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Perge
The most important city in Pamphylia, birthplace of Apollonius, a great
mathematician of the Hellenistic age (born 360 BC). The site is very large
and noted for the enormous well-preserved stadium with seating for 12,000
spectators (2nd Century AD), the large circular-towered Hellenistic gateway,
the marble-paved main street and the very large agora (215ft square) were
built in the 4th Century AD.
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Phaselis
This, the easternmost city of Lycia, is a picturesque ancient site set
in grand scenery against a backdrop of mountain peaks, Phoenicus, Olympus
and Climax (7500 ft) rising in a chain of splendour. Alexander wintered
his army here in 332 BC and it was visited by Hadrian in 130 AD. It has
three harbours, a fine paved main street, the remains of an archway in
honour of Hadrian, a rare aqueduct and a fine Roman theatre and tombs.
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Priene
A particularly fine Greek planned town, beautifully sited and virtually
untouched by the Romans, with an unspoilt council chamber and the famous
Ionic Temple of Athena, designed by Pytheos (the architect of the Mausoleum
of Halicarnassus) and a well preserved Greek theatre with stage and special
seating for notable people. The temple is said to exhibit the finest example
of the Ionic order of architecture, which was the model for the columns
of the British Museum in London.
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The Rhodian Peraea
Although not a site but an area, bordering ‘The Sea of Tranquillity’,
it contains many sites recorded and mapped by Lieutenant Spratt RN and
others in 1830-45. It is a mountainous area of noble limestone country
with a number of small pretty Turkish villages for relaxation, easily
reached on foot from the sea.
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Simena and Kekova
A beautiful calm anchorage behind an island (with ruins of an ancient
church) fringed by a sunken city which can be seen from a boat. On shore
is a quaint Turkish village (no roads) built on the site of an Hellenistic
fortress now overtopped by an old Ottoman fort, which can all be explored.
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Side
This large ancient site, dating from 750 BC, is on a peninsula still surrounded
by defensive walls which are amongst the finest examples of Hellenistic
fortifications (with a large defended gateway) in Turkey and dating from
the 2nd Century BC. Within the walls are a vast Roman theatre (one of
the best examples of Roman engineering skills), two large agora (one is
300ft square), a colonnaded street, Roman baths with an exhibition of
some of the finest Roman statuary in Asia Minor and a large Early Christian
church.
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St. Nicholas’ Island
Extensive ruins of a large Early Christian community crowded on to a small
hilly island, spectacularly positioned close to a tall white limestone
mountain. There are four early churches. One situated close to the pinnacle
of the island is linked by a very unusual vaulted processional way leading
to a ruined bishop’s palace of the Early Christian Church. The island
is in some way closely associated with St. Nicholas (4th Century AD),
the patron saint of Greece and Russia as well as sailors and merchants
and the model for Father Christmas. A rare and mysterious place. Site
under active excavation.
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Symi
The exception – it is a Greek island. Although what you see is not
ancient, but largely built in the 19th Century, it is a very fine example
of a small town of exquisitely designed and maintained domestic architecture,
dramatically sited. It is a rare and memorable experience to explore its
streets and enjoy its restaurants and shops.
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Triopium
A small fortified hilltop, a short hike above an ancient agricultural
landscape. It is a perfect textbook example of ancient Greek skills in
the design of military fortifications. The finest example of its period
on the whole coast. It was once the acropolis of an ancient city that
held Olympic-style games with competitors from other cities. The views
from the top are spectacular and a small Early Christian chapel is to
be found within the walls.
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Xanthus
The prime city of Lycia, witness to several great tragedies, the last
being the assault and destruction (in 42 BC) by Brutus and Cassius (the
assassins of Julius Caesar). Spectacularly sited on a high rock above
the Xanthus River, it still shows ancient Lycian tower tombs alongside
a large Roman theatre, a very large basilican church and a recently excavated
Roman street with a perfect stone paving 40ft wide, probably the finest
in Anatolia. Site under active excavation.
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Europe
Tel: +44 7768 508350
USA
Tel: +1 646 623 5533
Turkey
Tel: +90 532 272 8068
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